Telegram Image Size

The recommended image dimensions for Telegram profiles, chats, channels, and stickers in 2026

Telegram has grown into one of the most popular messaging apps worldwide, known for its speed, privacy features, and generous file sharing limits. Whether you're running a channel with thousands of subscribers, managing a group, or just chatting with friends, getting your images sized correctly helps everything look clean and professional. If you also share content on WhatsApp or Discord, you'll want to know the right dimensions for each platform since they all handle media differently.

Telegram Profile Photo Size

Your Telegram profile photo should be 512 x 512 pixels to 1024 x 1024 pixels with a 1:1 aspect ratio. The minimum accepted size is 160 x 160 pixels. Telegram displays profile photos as circles throughout the app - in chat lists, message threads, and user profiles. Uploading at 1024 x 1024 gives you the sharpest result, though 512 x 512 is also common.

You can set multiple profile photos on Telegram, and other users can swipe through them on your profile. Each photo follows the same sizing. Telegram also lets you set a public photo visible to everyone and a separate photo that only your contacts see. Since the circular crop removes all four corners, keep faces and important content centered with at least a 15% margin from the edges to stay inside the safe zone.

Telegram accepts JPEG, PNG, and WebP formats for profile photos. The maximum file size is 5 MB. If you upload a larger image, Telegram automatically crops and resizes it to fit.

Telegram Profile Video (Video Avatar) Size

Telegram lets you set a video as your profile picture instead of a static photo. Profile videos should be 512 x 512 pixels with a 1:1 aspect ratio in MP4 format (H.264 codec). The maximum duration is 10 seconds, and Telegram will prompt you to trim longer clips. Keep the file under 2 MB.

Profile videos auto-loop seamlessly. You can pick a specific frame from the video to serve as your static avatar placeholder. Telegram Premium users get their video avatars to autoplay everywhere - including chat lists and contact pages. For free users, the video only animates when someone opens your profile.

Telegram Chat Photo Size

When you send a photo in a Telegram chat, the platform compresses images so the longest side is 1280 pixels (at roughly 87% JPEG quality). For a landscape photo, that works out to about 1280 x 960 pixels or 1280 x 720 pixels. Telegram also offers an HD toggle that sends at up to 2560 pixels on the longest edge for noticeably sharper results.

To bypass compression entirely, send images as files using "Send as File." This preserves the original resolution and quality with zero compression. Free users can send files up to 2 GB, while Telegram Premium users get up to 4 GB per file. You can group up to 10 photos into a single album that displays as a grid.

For regular photo messages, quality stays reasonably high while keeping file sizes manageable. If you're sharing photography or design work where quality matters, the HD toggle or document mode is the way to go. Self-destructing photos follow the same dimension rules. Telegram accepts JPEG, PNG, and WebP formats for standard photo messages.

Telegram Channel Image Size

If you run a Telegram channel, the channel avatar follows the same rules as profile photos - 512 x 512 to 1024 x 1024 pixels, displayed as a circle. When you post images to your channel, the recommended size is 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9 landscape) since this fills the width of most screens nicely.

Telegram doesn't use traditional horizontal banners like YouTube or X. Instead, boosted channels (Level 5+) and Premium users can set dynamic custom covers using gradient color themes and repeating custom emoji patterns. This approach scales perfectly on any device size without cropping issues. For custom chat wallpapers, the recommended size is 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16 vertical) - keep focal points centered since the bottom 20% is covered by the input field.

Channel posts with images get higher engagement than text-only posts. Square images at 1280 x 1280 pixels also work well and display prominently in the feed. For infographics or high-quality visuals, send as documents to preserve full quality. Media captions support up to 1,024 characters for free users and 4,096 characters for Premium users.

Telegram Group Photo Size

Group chat photos work the same as profile and channel avatars - 512 x 512 pixels displayed as a circle. Group admins can set and change the group photo at any time. If no photo is set, Telegram shows a colored circle with the first letter of the group name.

For supergroups (groups with more than 200 members that have been upgraded), you can also set a group description and pin messages with images. Pinned images display at standard chat photo dimensions. Groups can have up to 200,000 members, so if you're managing a large community, a clear and recognizable group photo helps members identify the chat quickly in their list.

Telegram Sticker Size

Telegram stickers come in three types: static, animated, and video. Static stickers should have one side exactly 512 pixels, with the other 512 or less, in PNG or WebP format (WebP preferred for smaller files). The file size limit for static stickers is 512 KB. Telegram officially recommends adding a 5px white stroke and soft drop shadow so stickers are visible against both dark and light chat themes.

Animated stickers use Telegram's TGS format - a proprietary Lottie-based vector format exported via the Bodymovin-TG plugin for After Effects. Canvas size is exactly 512 x 512 pixels, max file size is 64 KB, max duration is 3 seconds (must loop seamlessly), and framerate must be 30 or 60 FPS. Objects must not leave the 512x512 canvas at any point during the animation.

Video stickers use WebM format encoded with the VP9 codec (no audio stream allowed). One side must be exactly 512 pixels, max file size is 256 KB, max duration is 3 seconds (looped), and framerate must be a constant 30 FPS. Transparency via alpha channel is supported and required. All stickers need transparent backgrounds.

Telegram Custom Emoji Size

Custom animated emoji are a Telegram Premium feature that display inline with chat text. They render at 100 x 100 pixels and follow similar encoding rules as stickers but at a smaller resolution. You can create custom emoji as static images (PNG/WebP), vector animations (TGS, max 64 KB), or video animations (WebM, max 256 KB).

Animated custom emoji have a maximum duration of 3 seconds (looped) at 30 or 60 FPS. Using the /adaptive bot command, solid-color emojis can dynamically change color to match the user's text or chat theme color, which is a nice touch for pack creators.

Telegram Stories Size

Telegram Stories use 1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 vertical aspect ratio. You can post photos (JPEG, PNG) or videos (MP4) up to 60 seconds per story clip. Stories are a key feature for channels and personal accounts to share temporary content.

Safe zones matter here: the top 14% (about 250 pixels) is overlaid by your profile name, timestamp, and progress bar, while the bottom 20% (about 340 pixels) is covered by the reply box, captions, and reaction emojis. Keep your core content in the middle 1080 x 1330 pixel area for the best visibility.

Telegram Video Message Size

Telegram's video messages (the circular video notes you record by holding the camera button) render at 384 x 384 pixels (or 400 x 400 on some clients). If sending via the Bot API, the maximum allowed is 640 x 640 pixels. These clips are limited to 60 seconds and play automatically when received. File size is typically around 1-3 MB for a full 60-second clip, with a maximum of about 20 MB.

The square video is completely masked into a circle, so all four corners are removed. Keep your face or subject dead-center. Premium users get automatic voice-to-text transcriptions for received video messages, which is handy for reading them without audio.

Telegram Video & GIF Size

For regular video sharing in chats, Telegram supports any resolution up to 4K, though 1080p or 720p is optimal for streaming. Videos are compressed by default, but sending as a document preserves the original quality. The file size limit is 2 GB for free users and 4 GB for Premium users, with no duration limit. The platform supports MP4, MOV, AVI, and WebM formats. If you're also posting video content on YouTube or TikTok, you can share the same files through Telegram as documents without any quality loss.

For GIFs, Telegram accepts files up to 50 MB for inline auto-play, with an ideal max of 1280 x 1280 pixels. Telegram automatically converts all uploaded .gif files into compressed .mp4 videos for buttery smooth 60 FPS looping playback and significant bandwidth savings.

Telegram Bot & Inline Image Size

If you're building a Telegram bot, the images you send through the Bot API follow the same rules as regular chat photos - 1280 pixels on the longest side with automatic compression. Document and video thumbnails attached via the Bot API should be 320 x 320 pixels maximum (neither dimension can exceed 320) in JPEG format, under 200 KB. These thumbnails show a custom preview before users download heavy files like PDFs or ZIPs.

Inline query result thumbnails typically render at 90 x 90 or 150 x 150 pixels for fast UI rendering. The actual target photo must be under 5 MB, while thumbnail URLs should point to files under 100 KB for instant loading as users type their queries. For game bots, the cover photo should be 640 x 360 pixels (16:9). Bot profile photos follow the same 512-1024 pixel standard as user profiles.